Renegades
by KuroiKitsune798
Summary: Follow Tristan as he grows from a Padawan learner on a quest to find his own balance and place in the galaxy. Through times of joy, strife, bliss, and sacrifice, He'll rise and fall, just like the best of them.
1. Chapter 1

**Fan fiction disclaimer: I do not own star wars or any of their properties. Star Wars is owned by Disney, Marvel, and Lucasfilm productions. I only own my original characters. This is a non-profit, fan-based, work of fiction. Please support the official release.**

It was night. A young man was tucking his daughter into bed for the night, his wife right beside him. The parents smiled as they watched their child slumber peacefully. Taking care to not wake her, they exited the young girl's room. Walking into a small living room, the two settled down on a couch. The man sighed as he leaned back and relaxed. His wife sat beside him and leaned against his shoulder before speaking up. "Tristan, we've done what we can to protect her from the empire. Give yourself a break or you'll keel over from exhaustion." The man wrapped his arm around her waist and leaned his head against hers. "I will. I can't protect you two if I'm too weak to move." The two smiled and the wife shook her head. "Don't worry, I'll take it easy for a bit. Aida has a lot to learn and we'll be there to help her for as long as we can." The woman leaned in and kissed Tristan's cheek. Before she could fully pull away, Tristan pulled her back in and kissed her on the lips. After a few seconds, they pulled away from each other. "I love you, Tristan." "I love you too."

My dream was suddenly disturbed by my awakening. It was a strange dream. I've never once seen anyone who was in it, so I figured it was of no importance. I jumped out of bed and walked into the shower to start the day. My master said that we'd do some battle training today with some force training after, and I wasn't going to miss it. After showering I threw on my padawan robes, grabbed some breakfast, and began walking through the jedi temple to a small training ground just outside of the building. I had gotten really good at finding shortcuts in the temple over the years. I used to get lost all the time, but after a year of being late to training sessions with master Yoda, I finally learned the basic layout of the temple.

Rounding a corner to the training ground I saw my master with two others. One was a tall bearded human male, only slightly shorter than my master, but still taller than me. The other was a twi'lek female, and she was just a couple inches shorter than me. I've never seen either of them, but my master seemed to have known the taller one pretty well. Without wasting any time my master introduced us after noticing me. "Right on time, Tristan. Allow me to introduce you to my brother, Axel Werrick, and his apprentice, Shiela Soh-Rene." He motioned to the other two jedi who bowed respectfully to me. To avoid being rude I returned the gesture and greeted them as well. "It's nice to meet you. Will you be joining my master and I in our training today?" Shiela nodded and quickly responded. "Yeah, my master wanted us to spar a bit. He said that it would be good to fight someone that wasn't him for a change." My face lit up after hearing that. I was getting excited at the thought of fighting all three of them at once, or at least a two on two. "Master Mercer, how will the training proceed? Free for all? Three on one? Two on two?" Mercer shook his head and started smirking. "No, It's just going to be a sparring duel between you and Shiela" My excitement immediately faded and I could have sworn that I visibly paled. Mercer could see that my mood had changed. "Tristan, stop avoiding this part of combat. You'll never get better at it if you don't practice" He folded his arms before readdressing me. It wasn't a scolding, but I knew that Mercer was annoyed with my lack of practice here. Remember, you can never be sure when someone will challenge you with a blade of their own." I nodded "Yes master."

Shiela and I spaced ourselves in the courtyard, squaring off and sizing each other up. We bowed and drew our blades. Shiela ignited her saber and a golden blade rose from the hilt as she took a basic T-stance. Holding the hilt with both hands together she pointed the blade at my neck and waited for me to make a move. I responded by presenting my left side to her with the hand outstretched, holding my blade back and down to the floor on my right side. Shiela visibly tensed when I glared her down with a vicious intent. This was my opening. I ignited my blade and beam of yellow light sprang forth. Charging her quickly, I intended to end the fight in one move. Shiela reeled back in surprise and braced herself to receive the blow, expecting me to try to hit her blade hard enough to rip it from her hand. With another quick dash towards I stopped just of her reach and rotated myself clockwise, my blade now on an exposed flank. It wasn't enough to throw her off though as she adjusted herself and blocked the strike. In a clash of yellow and gold Shiela moved her blade down mine in an attempt to disarm and put me in a surrender position. I threw the blade away and leaped backwards, attempting to use a force push to throw her back and increase the distance between us. The response must have been a hold over from Makashi or Djem-so, it was a disarming attack, but she blocked the attack rather than redirecting it. I landed fifteen feet away from her and she slid back another ten.

She had played me from the beginning, feigning weakness to lure me into a careless engagement. Pulling my saber to herself, Shiela ran towards me with an Ataru jar'kai style. She was intent on ending it there. She leaped into the air and came back down with both blades aimed for my head. I was barely able to defend myself by pulling out a second lightsaber from my robe and redirecting her attack into the ground. I had to quickly adjust myself because Shiela recovered and continued her assault, however, she made the mistake of attacking me with two blades. It may have only been another blade in her possession and not an actual second opponent, but it was enough to put me back into my comfort zone. Each time she'd attempt to strike me I'd just block one blade and engage the other. Her forward movement was halted and now I was on the offensive. I kept my blade work simple and random, aiming for the blade rather than her body. Shiela had attempted to throw me off by utilizing quick cuts and jabs, but it was too late. I was intent on beating her with sheer strength. She'd prod left, I'd strike horizontally at her torso and consequently hit the blade. I met all of her attacks with my own rather than guarding anymore. Head strike to blade, leg cut to blade, parry, foil, arcing sweep. She wasn't exhausted, but I could see her efforts slowing.

Caution was dictating her movements now, but not fear. Shiela knew she could win, but something needed to change. With a boldness I usually only see in myself, Shiela threw my blade back at me like a javelin, simultaneously rushing me again. I blocked the blade with ease and blasted her backwards into the air with a force push. Shiela landed with grace and recovered quickly, attempting to use a more measured pursuit as I retreated towards the spot where my blade fell. She closed the gap and got me into a blade lock before I could pick up my other saber. We carefully shifted the weight on our respective blades. One wrong move could give the other control. I however wasn't planning on winning a small bout. I intended to win the whole match. Forcing my blade forward and deactivating it caused her to overextend enough for me retreat from the lock and grab the other blade. Feeling like I had prodded Shiela enough to see her flaws I decided that now was the time to end the duel. Reversing my grip on both weapons I extended my arms forward and linked the pommels together, creating a saber staff. Re-entering the stance I started the duel with, Shiela finally realized why my stance was so open earlier. Everything was laid bare from the start, but now, all the pieces fit together. Giving me a smile she uttered her last spoken words of the duel "Ready when you are." I returned the smile and twirled the staff gripping it with both palms down before responding "Bring it on."

Time seemed to slow to a crawl. Shiela and I were starring daggers into each other. She had a duelist's focus while mine was that of a warrior's. Her focus was fully on me and me alone, trying to analyze every fiber of my being. I, however, focused on the environment and her stance. A breeze started to blow and some leaves were carried with it. One leaf slowly fell between us. It danced on its way to the ground. Our bodies tensed in anticipation. As the leaf hit the ground we lunged for one another. Our bodies were a blur to the untrained eye. Yellow and gold beams danced around and against each other before clashing with hisses and sparks. Shiela was measured, and I was wild. She was precise, but I was strong. She was fast, so I was faster. I made broad sweeps for her legs and arms but each attempt was blocked or redirected. Pushing her into a corner seemed easy enough, but I didn't want to press anything until I was sure she could be forced into a surrender.

Our forms were obvious to each other now. She preferred form 4 and I preferred form 6. Shiela fell back on form 3 while I fell back on form 5. My attacks were relaxed and lacked form. It was a shapeless entity akin to that of a ghost, but it's lack of form opened up many opportunities for me to innovate or surprise my opponent. Shiela, however, executed the techniques from her training perfectly and without deviation. Her form was predictable because of this, but her transitions were flawless and nearly unnoticeable. She'd either blitz, prod, redirect, or stonewall her opponent. This strong training turned out to be her downfall. Every attack followed a specific sequence and this made countering her very easy. My random attacks made me too difficult for her to truly defend herself against. After a failed attempt at striking me with another stab I had shoved her blade up and opened her core to an attack, but instead of stabbing, like she anticipated, I gripped her body using the force and blasted her into the wall, ending the duel.

The bout had torn up the courtyard. The walls were scorched and the ground was mostly rubble now. Shiela tried to get up, but she was still recovering from that last hit. "Take it easy Shiela, You took a nasty hit there." I moved to help her rest against the wall. Shiela started holding her forehead. "Damn, sorry Shiela. I didn't mean to hit you so hard." Shiela smiled and rose to her feet. "Don't worry about it, Tristan. It was a good match." She started walking to her master, stumbling a little, before turning around and addressing me again. "We should do this again some time." I smiled, nodded, and responded quickly. "Just tell me when and where!" Mercer and Axel finally readdressed us. Mercer was the first to speak up, but I could tell he was disappointed. "Tristan, can you explain why you repeatedly used such aggressive force abilities in a duel with your fellow jedi? You could have seriously injured her." I sighed and looked him squarely in the eye. "I was trying to win, master. It may have only been sparring, but it was still a competition" Mercer lightened up a little before responding. "I'm not worried about you trying to win. My point is that this was practice for weapon work, not application of abilities." My solemn expression turned to one of questioning. "Tristan, you need to work on fighting an opponent one-on-one without the use of force based abilities, inside or out of your sequences. It's your biggest weakness." Mercer drew his weapon and ignited it, a blue beam streaming forth. "ready yourself apprentice, this fight is to be fought by skill of the blade alone." Preparing myself, I drew my weapons and connected the hilts, igniting the yellow blades and facing my master with my side.

I held the staff diagonally down with my palms towards the ground. Mercer quickly moved in for an attack, but unlike Shiela, he was attacking almost entirely using thrusts and quick slashes. Any attempt to retaliate was thwarted by another quick jab at my torso. I retreated outside of his range, but he quickly pursued me, keeping me on my feet. Flicking two switches, the yellow blades extended to double their length. I quickly twirled the blade and successfully stopped my master's advance for a moment. Retracting one of the blades, I held the weapon towards his throat. Mercer attempted to swat my blade aside and deliver another quick strike at my torso, but I retreated by angling the blade down and lifting our blades into the air before attempting to split him in two with a heavy overhand chop. Mercer retreated from the attack. The weight behind it was too much for him to block and happened too quickly to deflect. The ground was split by the force of the blade and I quickly leaped at my master to end the fight. Mercer quickly reacted by gripping me with the force and tossing me aside before closing the distance again and kicking me in the ribs. The force of the kick sent me sprawling across the courtyard. I was left gasping for air as my master attempted to finish the fight again. I didn't want to lose this. Even though it was only sparring, I wanted to prove to Mercer that I'd become stronger. I focused intently on drawing energy into myself, mentally reciting my personally created mantra: "Light and dark , it's all the force". The energy I bottled up inside exploded in all directions around me with a force repulse. Debris was scattered across the grounds and my master was hurled into a wall.

Mercer recovered before he collided with the wall. His experience in force combat was years above my own. "If you think that's going to work on me then you're sadly mistaken." My technique was admittedly sloppy, but it was relaxed and wild. Mercer had taught me a little bit in six of the seven forms of lightsaber combat. Forms one, three, five, and six stuck with me, but trying to master all of them would take too long for my liking. Instead, I practiced form six exclusively, and focused on techniques involving forms one, three, and five. Most people used form six to keep their skills with a blade from getting too rusty while they pursued more academic knowledge. I, however, used it to blend academic knowledge and physical might.

Many masters, my own included, had viewed my style of fighting as overly aggressive or even sadistic in nature. Considering that I brutalized my opponents with sheer martial might, and most victims of my onslaughts were severely disfigured after the fact, they may have been right.

Fighting Mercer was the only way I could really improve it since many masters refused to work with me. They'd call my use of the force "a perversion of it's nature" and "a grievous misuse of it's power". Instead of calming my mind and feeling the universe around me, I'd blast opponents through walls and toss them around like rag dolls.

Mercer was relentless in his assault. No doubt he's switched from form two to form four. Striking at my knee was only a ploy, but if I let it slide he's definitely capitalize on my lax guard.

I couldn't take this hammering anymore. My guard had been tightened to a small ring around my body. His dissection had nearly reached it's objective. I gave a pushing slash followed by a force push. Taking advantage of the break, I focused my efforts on recuperating. I gathered my thoughts and the loose rubble began to swirl beneath me. Mercer was engaging again, blade held forward and pointed out, hands held waist high. He lunged forward, intent on running through me.

The ground beneath him and I collapsed and churned to rubble. Rocks of different sizes all began rapidly swirling around me. Granules of sand fused into stones. Boulders burst into pebbles. The chaos of a sandstorm wreaked havoc around me. All of his attempts to penetrate the wall ended with him getting pulverized by debris.

Mercer gathered his strength and threw a force push into the storm, but it only aggravated the mass of wind and rock. He knew that this down time was giving me a chance to come back at full strength, so he generated a force whirlwind to rotate opposite of my sandstorm.

The winds slowed, but before they came to a stop I threw every rock in his general direction as a huge wave. This proved to be only a nuisance for my master, but his passive guard was let down, now was my chance. I used the force and lifted him into the air. Pulling his lightsaber from him, I rammed his chest with my shoulder and sent us both sprawling through a wall.

Mercer was lying beside a pile of rubble. He was breathing, but I couldn't tell if he was hurt. I tried to get up, but the debris from the collapsed wall was pinning me down. Mercer started to stir. Rising to his feet, he lifted the rocks off of me. "Well then, that wasn't exactly what I was trying to teach, but, you are improving".

I picked myself up and dusted off my robes. "Master, why is it that you prefer to duel when it's more practical to learn how to fight on a battlefield?" Mercer closed his eyes. Looking away, he pondered how to best explain his thought process. "Okay, you know how we believe the Sith are destroyed?" Tristan gave his master a questioning look. "Yeah...". Mercer turned fully and refocused on his apprentice. "Who's to say someone whom is more skilled than you, or more powerful, won't be your advisory one day? There is more to this galaxy than just Jedi and Sith, and many cultures, whether it be for practical or ritual reasons, still train people to duel others, rather than fight in all out wars." I threw my hands up and shook my head, confused with where he was taking his explanation. "Wait, wait, wait. Master, where are you going with this? Are you suggesting that there are, or will be, people out there who'll try to fight a jedi in single combat?" Mercer smiled and nodded "Exactly. There are, and will be, people who will try to fight you one on one. I'm training you to be competent enough to hold your own without the physical use of the force, however, my goal for you is to be a great duelist who's able to handle even the craftiest of opponents."

I couldn't help but disagree with my master, he was wise, but this seemed unnecessary. "I'm sorry master, but it seems more applicable to just overpower my opponent with a raw assault of the force instead of trying to be more skillful than them with a blade." Mercer's face was plain as he stated "That's why you still have much to learn" Mercer's gained an inquisitive look. "By the way, when did you learn to channel the force in such a destructive way? Last time we sparred you didn't know how to use force repulse or whirlwind." My eyes lit up. I've been meaning to tell him about my the results of my studies and practice. "I've been using my off time to research past battles with dark side users. How they channel the force differently than us and apply it in more battle oriented scenarios. Their discipline is fascinating, and I couldn't just let the opportunity to learn something like that pass me by." Mercer sighed and scratched his beard. "I can only say what every other master has told you.." I interrupted, having heard this speech one too many times this month. "Be mindful of your desires" I let out an irritated huff. "Yes, master. I'll be wary." Mercer could only smirk and shake his head. "Alright Tristan, go wash yourself off, we've been scheduled for a diplomacy assignment later and you're not showing up covered in dirt and dust." I let out a disgruntled sigh. Mercer knew I disliked diplomacy, but that seemed to be the only assignments we ever got. "Yes, master." We turned to head opposite ways before I reeled back. "Wait, where are you going?!"Mercer just turned and looked at me plainly. "To get a few drinks in me. Not everyone has your tolerance for politics" I could only stare blankly as Mercer left me in the hall. I looked at the hole we left in the wall before walking away to get clean. " I hope I don't have to pay for that".


	2. Chapter 2

**Fan fiction disclaimer: I do not own star wars or any of their properties. Star Wars is owned by Disney, Marvel, and Lucasfilm productions. I only own my original characters. This is a non-profit, fan-based, work of fiction. Please support the official release.**

 **Author** **'s note:** Sorry this chapter took a while to put out. I only really write in my off time. I"m considering making the chapters shorter to push the content out a bit faster. For now I'll stick to what I'm already doing. I've also changed the rating to M to be on the safe side of 's guidelines as the story may become more detailed during action segments and my characters may not always have the cleanest language. That being said, please enjoy.

It was dawn. Two silhouettes, one significantly taller than the other, were prone against a hill. They looked down into a valley where a pack of kath hounds were resting.

The tall shadow stood to a crouch and pulled a cylindrical object off it's back before speaking up. "Alright Aida, do you remember what I taught you yesterday?"

The sun started to peak over the horizon, its light revealing the two shades to be a man and young girl and the cylindrical object was a slug rifle. The young girl eagerly responded "Yes dad!" with a huge grin plastered on her face.

The father cycled the ammunition a few times before holding it just out of the girl's reach. "Alright, nothing in the chamber, how do we handle the rifle?" The girl's grin became a focused stare as she looked into her father's eyes while answering "like it's loaded". The Father nodded and put the gun in Aida's hands without letting go of it. "Where do we point it?" Aida responded with "Down range at my target..." She tried to turn, but the father held the gun in place "Or...?" Aida giggled before responding again. "Or away from whatever I don't intend to shoot."

The father let go of the rifle and pat his daughter on the head. "Okay, last one. Finger off the trigger..." Aida was a bit puzzled with this last one "Until I... See my target?" The father shook his head "No, try again. Until you're..." Aida looked out into the pack of kath hounds before turning back and stating with vigor "Until I'm ready to take the shot". The man tilted his head from side to side for a moment. " Eh, close, but not quite."

He pointed to the kath hounds. "What do we have in common with them?" Aida was still puzzled with her father's questioning. "I don't remember this part dad." The father sighed for a moment and focused his daughter's attention to the pack again. "We're all living beings Aida." The man's face became solemn. "And we must respect this when we hunt, so keep you're finger off the trigger... Until you're going to take a life..."

I began to stir. The dream was nice, but it seemed different than usual; more vivid and lifelike. I felt like I was actually there, but at the same time, the dream seemed distant, like a memory.

I glossed over the cabin. My master, last I saw him, was taking a few shots from his flask before I nodded off. He was nowhere in sight, but the flask he had was sitting in his place. A bit odd considering he never goes far without it.

Mercer was a perplexing one. Many other masters held him in high regards, but all I could see was a drunk with no purpose. He'd constantly complain about the old days; how the Republic used to stomp out tyranny and injustice across the galaxy wherever they found it.

The Republic's been a bunch of senators and bureaucrats sitting in courts with thumbs up their asses for centuries now. There was no time they stamped out injustice, unless he's referring to the 'Old Republic', but it's been a millennium since the government's reformation. These days we're lucky to get a job trying to stop pirates.

"Well I'm up, might as well try to find him." I stood up and walked up to the flask before smelling the brew inside and putting it away. He was drinking a homemade whiskey, probably some back-alley Coruscant brand. It couldn't have been any more than fifty credits.

There must have been a bar on this cruiser because Mercer wouldn't have moved otherwise. It was a relatively large ship, sizing up at about 139 meters in length. Since it was a peace vessel there were no weapon systems outside of expedition grade laser cannons on its nose.

The corridors were brightly lit, light pouring in from the ceiling and walls. Every other hall had a maintenance droid mulling over the life support systems. A few of the doorways had senate guards posted in front of them. I don't know if they really expected someone to be a threat or if this was just for looks, but it was a bit off putting.

There was a slight chill running down my spine. I started shivering. Something seemed to tug my shoulder, but no one was there. Instead, I found myself facing a dimly lit hall.

Normally, I would have wrote it off as non-issue. Maybe it's just some power being rerouted? No. There was a dark presence in that hall. Something, or someone, much more powerful than I.

A sense of dread loomed over me. My hands were shaking, my breath grew unsteady, and my senses started heightening on their own. I was in fear.

What did I, a jedi, have to fear on a mere senate vessel? This revelation angered me. I've lost my composure to a feeling. Good thing Mercer wasn't here or else I'd be getting another lecture.

I gathered my thoughts and refocused on keeping a calm mind. There was a sense of clarity rushing over me. The hallway seemed to be normal, but I could still sense the dark presence. Hardening my resolve, I pressed onward into the darkened corridor.

As I peered further down the hall my vision began to blur. Everything started becoming a hazy dark blue. Red streaks began to flare out near the walls. There was a deep voice. Its words rang in my head like a bell as it bellowed. "The prattle of another mortal trying to do what's right. You deny your true potential. I can feel everything you try to hide. Your fear. Your anger. They betray you. I, however, can make them your tools."

The voice continued. It's spectral echo growing louder as it berated me. I collapsed to my knees and covered my ears in a feeble attempt to block out the disembodied voice. With my teeth gritted and eyes closed tight I was barely able to mutter. "Who are you? What do you want?"

There was a gut wrenching laughter all around me. What was I even dealing with? I've never read about a similar phenomenon in any of my studies and it was obviously force sensitive if it can sense my thoughts and emotions.

"You will learn in time, that is, if you pursue the knowledge." I looked up from the ground and saw a transparent figure in a black robe. "The beginning of your search for knowledge begins in the room to your left." The phantom pointed towards a room with a deep red beam of light pouring out from under the door. "I won't force you to take the first step, but I doubt that you'll disappoint me."

With those last words the phantom disappeared. I stood up and looked around for witnesses, but there were none to speak of. Looking back towards the door I hesitantly opened it and looked around.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, especially after that ordeal, and the red glow had seemingly disappeared as well. Looking towards a bed frame there was another red hue. A feminine whisper came from it. "Don't be bound by the weak."

I got down on my hands and knees to look under the bed. A luggage case lay beneath. The red light flowed from the cracks and the whisper came again, but it was louder this time. "Shackled and repressed like the obedient little servant you are. Don't waste your power bowing to those weaker than you!"

I shook my head and moved to open the bag. "Hey! Stop!" A man yelled at me from the hall. It must have been a politician. His clothes weren't too extravagant, but it was obvious that he wasn't a guard.

"What are you doing in my quarters, and why are you trying to rummage through my things?" The man's eyes, were cold and calculating. Sure, many political types seemed shifty, even when talking to jedi, but this wasn't the same slimy feeling that i got from other politicians. No, this guy was hiding something big behind that scowl.

"Sorry sir, I heard someone calling me over here when I was on my way to the bar." I lied right through my teeth. This was a weak attempt at deception, even from me, but maybe he'd buy it.

"Alright you runt, I don't care if you're a jedi, there is no reason for you to be in my room. Now give me that bag! You have no right to be rummaging through my stuff!" The man's voice seemed like it was about to crack. His I looked down at the bag before looking back at him. "Sure, but first, tell me what's inside."

This infuriated the man. His face turned red as the scowl twisted into rage and his hands clenched into fists. "You're in no position to bargain boy!" A bead of sweat fell from his brow. "Now give me the bag!"

The light leaking from the bag began to glow brighter and in a much deeper shade of crimson. It looked like blood was oozing onto the ground. He took a step forward and put his hand out and I stood up holding the bag in my left arm.

I drew my blade and held it at his throat. The man's eyes widened in fear as the rest of his body froze. "Yes I am. Now, either you can tell me what's in the bag, or we can talk with the crew about what you're smuggling." This threat, empty as it was, needed to be enough to stop him. I couldn't risk this becoming an incident and jeopardizing the political mission.

Suspending the case in air I removed the locks while still holding my blade toward the smuggler. Another shout rang in my head as the case opened. "KILL HIM!" I lost my focus and dropped the case. The shout left me with a terrible headache but I saw the smuggled goods fall from the case. It was a Sith holocron.

The smuggler ran to pick up the holocron, only to be stopped by me, as I barely held him back with the force. It didn't take long for the smuggler to find out what was going on. He pulled a vibrosword out from a locker and swung at me. I could barely catch the attack as I held my head.

With my blade in my right hand and my head in the left, I couldn't effectively defend myself. He focused on swinging at me with all of his strength. I had no choice but to dodge. I lost my balance in the cramped room and fell to the ground. He followed me down in an attempt to impale me.

Regaining just enough composure I managed to use the force to shove him back a little, but this only stalled his attempt. He charged and attempted to cleave me in two. I let go of my head and met his blade halfway.

Another shout rang from the holocron, louder than the last. "EMBRACE YOUR MIGHT!" My teeth gritted as I held my head in both hands. The pain was unbearable. Everything seemed foggy again.

The smuggler took the opportunity to swing again. He cut me at the chest. Blood spattered on the walls. I reeled back in pain and fell face down on the ground while letting out a pained growl.

The voice came back again, but it was much softer this time. "What a disappointment. I guess you'll die here like the weakling you are. An insignificant whelp, who's wasted the time of all those around him. Your only purpose in life being of being a burden to those you care about is almost over."

The smuggler brought his blade straight down towards my spine. His arms slowed to a stop before it got within a foot of me. Panic began to set in for him as he realized he couldn't move.

I rose to my feet and held my chest. The sword didn't go deep, but is was a nasty cut. I slowly turned towards him. My face devoid of any emotion. The smuggler tried to run, but his body wouldn't respond.

I felt cold. Or was it numb? Existence didn't seem joyful like it used to. No warmth to embrace or hopes to fulfill... Well... Except for one. Maybe the blood of another will bring some feeling back... I started to to move towards the smuggler while readying my blade to gut him.

As I got closer to my target everything seemed to get darker. I raised my blade and prepared to strike him down the voice came back. "Yes. Strike him down and embrace the power you can control."

I pulled my hand back, hesitating to make the slash. I could feel the smuggler's fear. His breathing was shallow and quick, eyes darting across the room in a futile attempt to find an escape.

Tensing at the thought of ending his life I deactivated my blade. I couldn't bring myself to kill him. Not like this. The voice came back again with the same belittling tone as before. "As I suspected. You're weak and incompetent." I shook my head at the disembodied voice's words and looked back at the smuggler.

Moving closer to the petrified criminal I grabbed one of his arms and proceeded to break his elbow joint. He let out a howl in agony as the now busted limb bent backwards and fell limp and he fell back, hitting the ground with a silent thud. I stood over the his body, breathing heavily and slouching forward somewhat. The shock had caused him to pass out and I moved to grab the holocron.

Picking it up, I examined the fist sized prism. It was archaic, at least a thousand years old. I looked back at the man before questioning him. "what purpose do you have for smuggling this?" The smuggler was comatose and couldn't respond.

I grimaced a bit as a wave of pain shot through my chest where the blade cut me. The wound could be healed, but it would take time, so I dragged myself out into the hall and focused on stopping the bleeding. Sooner or later, someone would clean up the mess.


	3. Chapter 3

**Fan fiction disclaimer: I do not own star wars or any of their properties. Star Wars is owned by Disney, Marvel, and Lucasfilm productions. I only own my original characters. This is a non-profit, fan-based, work of fiction. Please support the official release.**

 **Author** **'s note:** Sorry this chapter took a while to put out. I only really write in my off time. I"m considering making the chapters shorter to push the content out a bit faster (let me know how you feel). For now I'll stick to what I'm already doing. That being said, please enjoy.

There was a flash of red lightning streaking across the sky of a desolate world. A single temple rests upon the dusty gray land. Ancient runes had been traced across the decaying structure. At the top, a slowly rotating pyramid hovered with a faint hum. Flashes of the Sith holocron came into view before lightning struck the temple. The hum turned into a loud screech as the temple roared to life. Its black runes turned a deep crimson red and the pyramid began to break apart revealing a glass like substance containing the same red lighting that's been arcing across the sky. More flashes of the Sith holocron came about as the ground started to shake.

The Barren world began to split apart. Fissures littered the planet and the temple slowly started rising from its foundation. Dust and ash blocked what little remained of the sun's light. The screech of the temple softened to reveal a whirring noise, its pace increasing rather quickly. The pyramid's light shined onto the ground creating what looked like a lake of blood around it. The whirring became even faster as the light grew brighter.

Suddenly the whirring stopped and was followed by a massive beam firing from the pyramid and disintegrating what remained of the ground.. A woman's screams echoed across the land followed by a bright white light.

I lurched forward only to be held back by some metal straps. I started panicking and attempted to rip the strap off before the wound on my chest flared in pain. Grabbing my chest, I took the moment to calm my mind and asses my surroundings. There were an abundance of hazard canisters and the room looked remarkably clean. This must have been the sick bay. Not exactly high end, but it can stabilize someone if they're injuries aren't too serious. I looked back down at my chest and saw some scarlet spreading across some bandages. It must have been my wound opening up. The pain was sharp, and my breathing was ragged.

There was a presence outside the door. It must have been five minutes since I woke up. Was this a medical officer checking up on me?... Or.. Perhaps my master...? Mercer isn't one to gloat, but I know when he really wants to. He loves to not say "I told you so" whenever the opportunity arises. It's worse than if he did say it.

The door to the medical bay opened. Luckily it was only the ship's medical officer. She wasn't much shorter than I, maybe a couple inches, but her body was very lithe. Rather than muscular, she looked flexible. Maybe she was a runner. Combat definitely wasn't the first thing on her mind. She had taken notice of me analyzing her and began a routine physical examination before speaking up. "Tristan, glad to see you're finally conscious."

Her introduction shocked me and I was quick to respond. "Finally conscious? How long have I been out?" The medic pulled out a data pad and displayed the schematics in a 3-D hologram, my name at the top right section. It was not just a model of me, but my internal structure. A medical droid walked in with another data pad before she resumed her small talk. "You've been unconscious for four days". She took off her cap revealing short blonde hair before continuing. "Some of the guards bet that you wouldn't come out of it until the week was up. Since it was self-imposed, rather than a result of your injury, we didn't know what to think." Her words made me pause for a second. I'd only focused on resting and healing my wounds, not sedating myself and going under for an unknown amount of time.

I took a moment to examine my wound more closely. The red from earlier had seeped all the way through the four layers. The wound must have opened significantly. I raised my hand and began pulling at the bloody cloth. The medical officer spoke up quickly when she noticed my prying. "What are you doing? You already opened the wound back up, so why would you want to make the injury worse?" I stopped my antics and looked back to her.

She was analyzing the diagram closely. "hmm". She pointed at the wound on the diagram and drew circles around my heart and lungs. "There seems to be some odd anomalies in a couple spots here. Have you felt any pain in your heart or lungs recently?" I shook my head. The medical officer leaned back and crossed her arms, a puzzled look on her face. "If you don't mind, I'd like to run a few tests to see what this is." I shook my head again and responded. "Not at all Doc, what do you have in mind?" She smiled and turned towards me again while relaxing her posture. "Please, call me Neela."

Neela opened a locker and pulled out a hovering X-ray. She placed the machine over me while priming its power cells. "This will only take a second." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before the machine gave a bright flash. Neela proceeded to move the machine away and looked at the second data pad the droid brought in. Neela looked concerned and confused, shifting her gaze back and forth from me and the diagram. Upon noticing her concern I started to get nervous. " Is something wrong Neela?" She didn't respond. Instead, she just slowly shook her head while staring at the diagrams.

Beads of sweat started to fall from Neela's forehead and here hands started to shake. I was getting worried too. "Neela, what's wrong?" She took a deep breath and paused for moment before answering. "Tristan... You... Your..." I was getting frustrated now. "Neela! What is it!?" She was starting to get pale now. Whatever was going on wasn't within the norm for her.

I was about to force my way off the medical table again before the medical droid spoke up. "What my superior is trying to say is 'you have three clusters of microscopic droids attached directly to your heart and lungs, and these droids appear to be, for lack of a better term, feeding off of you." I was the one who went pale now and sank back down on to the table. First I'm tormented by visions, then I'm cut across the chest, and now I'm being eaten alive from the inside out.

Neela finally regained her composure and spoke up. "Okay, so we don't have the tools to remove these droids here, and we can't change course to get you into a qualified medical facility." she looked back towards the diagram. "But, it doesn't look like the droids are progressing very quickly, however, we must be cautious." Neela brought up a medical log on all of the recorded cases she had access to involving these droids. "From what I know off hand, these droids, also known as nano-droids, have been used as undetectable explosives, usually by assassins."

Neela moved onto a computer and started to quickly search through some droid files. "Okay, so if you are indeed being broken down by these droids then they might not be explosive, but we need to find something to shut them down for a while. We can't risk bringing you into a populated area if there's a chance you're a ticking time bomb." Neela was intensely focused. A multitude of case files involving nano-droids were moved across the screen before moving them onto a data disk. These cases included not only medical journals, but construction and crime files as well.

Several minutes went by in silence before Neela spoke up again. "Well. After looking through the records I haven't found anything involving these droids feeding on others, but every case involving their use has been demolition through remote detonation." My brow furrowed at this. "This should be an easy enough problem to solve then, right? I mean. I made the guy who attacked me pass out in his quarters." Neela shook her head. "Tristan, after finding you, we searched everything Allan had for contraband. At no point did we find anything that could link him to this."

I pondered in silence before I realized something was missing. "Just thinking about it now, but where is my master?" Neela looked to her droid assistant and back to me before responding. "Your master has been investigating ever since we found you. He seemed rather concerned." I was legitimately surprised hearing that Mercer was using any form of investigation to solve an issue. He's only ever ranted about how tiresome the process is and how most cases result in biased decisions that are far from being just. "Do you know where Mercer is now, Neela?" She nodded before motioning towards the door. "Last I saw of him he was in the bar recording his notes." I rolled my eyes before trying to get up and noticed I was still tied down. "Tristan, you're in no condition to move about the ship yet. I know jedi can heal quickly, but that obviously isn't healed." She pointed at the blood soaked bandages covering the wound. Pressing the issue never goes over well with the medical types So I decided to do as she said. "We would've thrown you in a bacta-tank if we had one, but this isn't a medical frigate, so we're working with an older kolto process." Neela leaned me forward and cut off the bandages before rapping a new layer on me. "It should be two days of continues rest before the kolto runs its course in your system, but you need stop opening the wound."

Neela pulled out a syringe of clear liquid from a locker. "You may feel a small pinch." I smirked as as she injected the liquid into my shoulder. In a couple seconds I felt my body start to go limp as she moved my arms and legs into place for restraints to hold me down. "That should keep you from thrashing about in your sleep."

Neela pulled out two more syringes, both of which were considerably smaller than the first and had a blue hue. I gave her a questioning stare before she responded. "Oh, that was just a muscle relaxer to keep you from moving for a bit." She had the most innocent and unnerving smile while holding up the other two injections. "These are just a fraction of your full treatment." My eyes widened at her gleeful disposition. "How many of those do I need?" She pondered on that for a moment before chirping back "Ten more after these two and that will do for today. Large doses will accelerate the process considerably, but this may cause you to involuntarily spasm." She shrugged while telling me "I'm afraid that's the price of quick recovery with ancient medicine." Thoroughly worried about the process I decided to let the muscle relaxant fully numb me before slipping out of consciousnesses and using the time to meditate on my more pressing issues. A faint whisper could be heard from Neela as I let go of reality. "I never give up on my patients, but damn my pride if I have to go through another nanodroid incident."


	4. Chapter 4

**Fan fiction disclaimer: I do not own star wars or any of their properties. Star Wars is owned by Disney, Marvel, and Lucasfilm productions. I only own my original characters. This is a non-profit, fan-based, work of fiction. Please support the official release.**

 **Author** **'s note:** Sorry this chapter took a while to put out. I only really write in my off time. I"m considering making the chapters shorter to push the content out a bit faster (let me know how you feel). For now I'll stick to what I'm already doing. That being said, please enjoy.

P.S: So this is going to be a short chapter (sorry, I was having some writers block and needed to shift the plot quickly to a new location or I'd keep being stuck.) Let me know if you like the chapters shorter like this or if I should hold off on future chapters until they're a certain length.

I want to to branch out and make some other stories as well so look forward to some other material if you're interested.

Finally, I'm starting up school this fall so uploads may be even slower than they already are (sorry). All critiques and advice are welcomed and wanted. Thank you for your time.

The sounds of chatter and smell of liquor permeated my senses as I walked through the dining hall. Everything looked looked luxurious. From the patron's attire to the plates they ate off of, it looked like these people were royalty. Then again, maybe most of them were. Core world nobles did have a habit of over-indulging in the finer things. I must have looked strange walking around in casual robes. Honestly, even the robes felt like overkill to me at times. Hopefully no one would notice me.

I took a seat in the back corner. From here I could keep tabs on everyone here and stay out of the way. A waiter approached the table shortly after and addressed me. "What would you like tonight, sir?" I waved him away and shook my head. "I'm good sir, water will be fine". Before the waiter could leave there was a voice who approached and quickly stated "Actually, get us some wine and your most popular dish".

Mercer had took a seat across from me as the waiter left. "Well then, my apprentice, quite the predicament you've gotten yourself into". I just shook my head with a heavy sigh. "Master, do you even know the half of it?" He sat back and gave me an inquisitive look. "Perhaps, see if you can enlighten me". I started listing off all the events I was conscious for over the week.

Mercer nodded as I spoke. "Aside from what I've been told, there is one thing that troubles me, Master". He raised an eyebrow as I continued in a whisper. "Before I encountered this Allan guy I was led to his quarters by some sort of phantom, and inside was a Sith holocron hidden away in his luggage".

Mercer's expression remained plain as he whispered back to me. "Tristan, are you absolutely sure? If that really was a Sith holocron, then we must ensure that it's secured and brought to the jedi temple". I nodded my head. "I understand, master, but there's one problem. The medical officer who was treating me, Neela, said that the crew already searched Allan's room and found nothing." Mercer shook his head. "No. I've talked with her as well, and she explained that the crew didn't find anything linking him to your... Condition". I stared down at table, the thoughts of these droids dissolving my innards made my blood run cold. Mercer quickly spoke up again. "Your condition wouldn't be connected to that holocron, though, and a Sith holocron may seem like nothing to them.

I looked Mercer straight in the eyes, my own filled with urgency. "Master. If what you're saying is true, then we need to be searching the entire ship; starting with that room". Mercer leaned back and gave a smirk. "We will my apprentice, but first...". The waiter had come back with a bottle of chimbak wine, two plates of flat bread, star blossoms, and some steamed fish that I couldn't identify. "And would either of you care for anything else today?" Mercer waived the man away. "No, this is perfect. Thank you". The waiter bowed and left us with the plates of luxurious food. "Remember my young apprentice, you need to know when to nourish yourself before running into the fray".

Mercer uncorked the wine and poured himself a glass. "Care to try some? Chimbak is one of my favorite". I sighed and looked at the fish curiously. There was no point in arguing about urgency with my master. We were no where near a system, so an escape pod wouldn't be an option for Allan, and rushing into things may not be a good course of action for me. "Alright Master, I'll try some. The waiters won't mind right?" Mercer smirked, rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Ah, who cares, you're a young lad. If they want to give us a hard time then we'll talk with them". While quartering some of the fish I couldn't help but smirk at his response. Many core world societies disapproved of someone my age drinking, but I preferred the outer rim's social standards.

After about two hours Mercer and I had finished the feast of a meal. We laid back in our seats, fully content. "See Tristan? It's not so bad to treat yourself now and then." I nodded at his advice. This sensation of being content was nice, but I couldn't rid myself of this guilty feeling. Luxury was nice when earned, but I'm a jedi, a servant to the galaxy. I don't earn this treatment. The Jedi taught me that peace and harmony were my rewards.

Mercer and I sat in silence. I stared down at the crumbs and bone remains of the fish. Mercer could feel the regret emanating off of me. He sat up quickly and started moving towards the exit. "Well, shall we get to work?" I smiled and jumped out of my seat. "Let's go, Master".


End file.
